U.S. Marine Accused of Kidnapping Continues to Keep Afghan Orphan

When the Afghan woman heard that her family’s case had reached the White House, she rushed to her friend’s home in anticipation that her child, allegedly taken by a U.S. Marine over a year prior, would be returned. The excitement caused her to forget her shoes.

“We were hopeful that she would be back with us within a week,” she informed The Big Big News.

However, despite two months passing since an AP report highlighted the ongoing legal dispute involving the child, creating a stir at top governmental levels from the U.S. to Afghanistan, the child remains under the care of U.S. Marine Corps Major Joshua Mast and his family. The Masts maintain they legally adopted the child, branding the Afghan couple’s allegations as “baseless” and “unfounded.”

In response to the AP’s October report, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre voiced concern over the child’s welfare. The U.S. Justice Department intervened last month, arguing that the child’s adoption by Mast should never have been approved. They insisted that Mast’s actions contradicted U.S. foreign policy decision to reunite the orphan with her Afghan family. They attempted to move the case from a rural Virginia court to federal court but were denied by Presiding Circuit Court Judge Richard E. Moore. Federal investigations are underway.

Court-appointed attorney Samantha Freed, tasked with ensuring the child’s best interests, said, “We just want a resolution for this child to avoid further uncertainty in her life. It’s crucial that we get this right now because there won’t be another chance.”

The child, who is now 3 1/2 years old, was first encountered by Mast during his temporary assignment in Afghanistan in late 2019. The infant had survived a Special Operations raid that had claimed the lives of her family. Despite the Afghan government and the International Committee of the Red Cross arranging reunification with her relatives, Mast was determined to bring her to the U.S., circumventing certain legal safeguards for international adoptions in a Virginia court using his military status and political connections.

The child was taken from the Afghan couple after their arrival at the Fort Pickett Virginia Army National Guard base during the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan. They have not seen her since and are legally fighting for her return.

Mast argues in court that he acted “admirably” in bringing the child to the U.S. and providing her with a loving home and necessary medical care. He portrays the adoption as an act of Christian faith, whereas the child’s Afghan family is Muslim.

The toddler’s fate is to be decided in a secret court case in rural Virginia, where Mast’s custody was previously granted. The federal government has labeled this custody order as “illegal,” “improper,” and “gravely flawed and incorrect” as it relied on Afghanistan waiving jurisdiction over the child, which never occurred.

Mast continues to cast doubt on the Afghan couple’s relation to the child in court, describing her as a “war orphan” and a “stateless minor.”

The ongoing legal tussle centers on whether the Afghan family, who raised the child for 18 months, has any rights under Virginia law to contest the adoption. Judge Moore ruled in favor of the Afghan family’s legal standing in November; an appeal from the Masts is under review.

The Afghan relatives, now in Texas, believe the U.S. government should do more to assist them given the involvement of several federal agencies in the issue.

“They’re not performing their duty appropriately,” said the Afghan woman. “And we are the ones suffering in the process.”

Despite various appeals to several agencies at Fort Pickett for help, they were only able to get assistance after contacting Martha Jenkins, a voluntary attorney at the base.

Marine Corps spokesperson stated that they are fully cooperating with federal investigations, including one focused on the alleged unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or material. In court-submitted emails, Mast referred to reading classified documents about the raid that killed the girl’s family.

Globally, the Taliban has pledged to pursue the issue with American authorities to ensure the child’s return to her relatives.

The Afghan couple currently anticipates their child’s return, with a room ready in their new two-bedroom apartment. They pass their nights looking through photos of the time they spent raising her, hoping for her return.

This report includes contributions from AP researcher Rhonda Shafner.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Afghan child abduction

More about Afghan child abduction

• U.S. Adoption Policy
• Afghanistan Family Law
• International Committee of the Red Cross in Afghanistan
• Information on U.S. Marines